Just one more thought: Does something need to be done? Of course it does. Will it? Of course not. The US is up to its eyeballs in realities on the ground in Iraq. The USG is not really interested in accepting huge waves of Iraqi refugees to the US.
There’s only two countries really in this: Syria and Jordan. I wonder if the Syrian handling of Iraqis is all that dissimilar?
I mean, maybe Norway or Sweden will step up and say, give us a few hundred, we’ll take them so that the influx doesn’t drown and destabilize these countries. But that little exchange will not change the reality for Syria/Jordan.
I think the refugee crisis in Jordan is a real worry, it’s hugely destabilizing. There was worry about this when the war broke out, with camps in Ruweshied, Jordan set up to handle this. There was no flood as expected, but now that the spotlight is gone there is a huge issue for Jordan and Syria with Iraqi refugees.
It is a problem for Jordanian-Iraqi relations on a personal level. But the people (not the politicians) need to keep their eye on what’s at stake here. The war in Iraq is called “destabilizing” to the region. The refugee issue is a huge reason why.
I’m sure the argument will be made, “but I’m just getting a visa” or “some of these people are businessmen,” etc. But the reality is that when dealing with a crisis these kind of brutal measures become part of life; they are based in fear.
Jordan should surely do something to improve things. But consider this: Things have gotten so bad, Jordan has nothing else but this to offer. It is clear that the kingdom is just doing what it can to try and handle this. It’s not capable of more. Jordan doesn’t have proper facilities at the airport to deal with this. Clearly they are overwhelmed.
We could hope they’ll get funding to do something and make things better for those that are held. But it’ll likely not happen in time, if it ever does. This is a tragic situation for the people but what is going on is political. Jordan is fighting for stability as Iraq is torn to pieces. Likely Syria is thinking the same.
The Middle East is awash with refugees, from Palestine, Lebanon and now in full-force … Iraq. The US policy in the Middle East when seen in this light can clearly be called a failure.
